overflow box

[troutman11111]

hi,i have 1 300gph overflow on my 75gal,a 600gph pump in the fuge that ihad to slow down to keep the tank from spilling on the ground. it's been 1 1/2 yrs no problem. now the overflow box should have 1in of suction when working fine, this is not the case now, it has 1/8 in. bad. i turned the pump down and the water went right back to 1 in, perfect i thought till i looked in the overflow box the water was barly going down the flow rate is very slow now. i cleaned the screen on the overflow also. do i have to cut the pvc and replace it? the check valve on the return side does not hold the water anymore when power goes out. thanks. i'm thinking alga build up. thanks.

 

[dustybrannum]

check the "u" tube for algae, sponges, or built up air bubbles. i have to re prime mine about once a month cause of microbubbles

 

[troutman11111]

no u tube, this is a cpr. i,m using a penguin 300gph power head to run it.

 

[fishfreek]

Sounds like you have a flood just waiting to happen. There is nothing wrong with hang on overflows, i have two myself, but they are not a 'set it and forget it' type thing. I do about 5 minutes of preventiive maintance on mine every month. This includes shutting the overflow down and cleaning the U tube out with a pipe cleaner brush as well as taking the prefilter sponge out and rinsing it well with warm water.

 

[troutman11111]

i have a cpr, this has no u tube. the water goes in from tank down, then up this skinny part ,then down and up an into the box which goes to the fuge. that skinny part cannot get there to clean.

 

[fishfreek]

Im not fimular with the CPR construction. Is there a way to get a flexable pipe brush in there? If not then a replacment might be needed. SOmeone who has a CPR may be able to better advise you.

 

[bound_for_obx]

If you are having problems getting a flexible brush to go thru the CPR's wier, You could try to take some thread and let one end "flow thru" the wier while the overflow is in operation. Tie the thread to your flexible brush and pull the brush thru. Hope this helps.

 

[troutman11111]

excellent Idea, i tried this morning with a piece of white twine after i soaked it because it floated, there is not enough suction. i will try again tonight with a 700gph pump to the cpr.gotta go to work.

 

[troutman11111]

no luck with the string.looks like i will have to take the cpr off the tank,cutting pvc stinks. fishfreek, what kind do you have? you said you have u tubes.

 

[bound_for_obx]

troutman11111 buy a pvc cutter. They probably cost less than $15 and work really well.
here is a link to what they look like...
http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=23091-407-8215

 

[troutman11111]

up date, there is no way to get in the cpr to clean. a lot of hot tap water ,shaking it like a wild man ,got me a fistful of those little tube worms that were stuck in it. all hooked back up running like brand new. got 1 1/2 in of suction. .